The Metamorphosis — Did Samsa Really Turn into a Bug?

Famous Czech writer Franz Kafka’s deep story The Metamorphosis is also very well-known in Türkiye. This story mainly tells about Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an insect and his family’s attitude towards him. However, in the background of the book, there lies deep symbolism.

We start the book with Kafka’s description of how Samsa turned into a bug. This narrative continues throughout the following pages, where we read about how Samsa’s family blames him even though it wasn’t his fault. But as I mentioned, Samsa never actually transforms into a bug — it symbolizes his alienation from family life, his job, his responsibilities, and society’s expectations. Even though he is no longer in human form, he still feels the pressure of providing for his family. This represents the feeling of being trapped under society’s expectations, even when modern humans become alienated from themselves. Despite everything, he still loves his family. In one part, Gregor mentions that he still wants to send his sister to art school, even though he is now a bug.

As for his family, they represent the cruel side of society. Before Samsa’s transformation, he was the only working person in the family. But after his transformation, he can no longer work because of his condition. At first, they try to help him — they comfort him and bring him food every day. The food Gregor eats represents a life that no longer identifies with humanity. He literally eats trash. After a while, he refuses to eat even that. This represents rejection and deeper alienation.

His mother cannot even look at him because it pains her. At first, she is kind and loving. His sister, Grete Samsa, is similar to their mother — she loves Gregor, cleans his room, and brings him food. But as a result of Gregor’s alienation, they both begin to see him as a bug rather than a brother. In contrast, his father is the authority figure of the house — a harsh man. Even though Gregor was the one who provided for the family, his father becomes the one who suppresses him. Because of his father, Gregor can’t even crawl or move freely anymore, which was the only thing that made him slightly happy.

As days pass, the family begins to struggle to make ends meet without Gregor working. They start to blame him for the situation he cannot control. They see him as a burden rather than a son or brother. Society does not like anyone who is not useful. If it were Grete who had turned into a bug, they would not feel the same amount of hatred, because she was not as essential to the family’s survival as Gregor was.

Kafka makes us feel Gregor’s alienation and his family’s growing hatred more and more as the story progresses. At first, his parents avoid him, while his sister still tries to connect. But toward the end, they openly talk about how Gregor has become nothing but a burden — a disgusting bug living freely in the house.

We can also see how Gregor’s life becomes increasingly miserable. He lives in filth, eats rotten food, and his family removes the furniture from his room. This symbolizes Gregor becoming lonelier in his inner world and rotting away within it. His room represents his inner self — after his transformation, he rarely leaves it. His alienation keeps him locked inside, and the walls act as borders separating him from the world.

At the end of the book, when they finally get rid of Gregor, the family feels nothing but relief — as if they hadn’t just lost their son. This makes me feel disgusted toward his parents and what they symbolize.

In conclusion, you can be sure that this is not a boring book. The fact that the story maintains a concrete narrative keeps the reader engaged and eager to continue. It makes us understand how society, and even one’s own family, can abandon you if you are no longer useful. The Metamorphosis is truly a captivating and thought-provoking book that, even if we set aside all its symbolism, still has something powerful to say.

“I cannot tell you. I cannot explain to you what is happening inside me. I cannot even make sense of it myself.”